New chapter of Single Old Man is out! (1/1 chapter)

 

 

Production Begins

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“Ughh, that was so embarrassing.” (Yeran)

“Hahaha. Sorry about that, but it was actually pretty fun.” (Gentoku)

I went into a café with Yeran to gather my thoughts. Of course, it was my treat. Yeran had loosened up her dress and let out a deep sigh.

“This kind of thing really doesn’t suit me after all… ahh, my shoulders are so stiff.” (Yeran)

“Hahaha. I thought it suited you though.” (Gentoku)

“…Shut up. So, what are you gonna do about the new product?” (Yeran)

“Oh? Interested?” (Gentoku)

“More like… you’re the one who comes up with the ideas and prototypes, but we’re the ones who actually commercialize and mass-produce them, okay?” (Yeran)

“Ah, right. Speaking of which, what happened with the ice maker?” (Gentoku)

“It’s already finished. Onee-sama gathered some big names from the Culinary Guild and pitched it to them. We also presented a few units to the royal family, and it’s getting a pretty good reputation. If it has the royal family’s endorsement, no one’s gonna complain, and if you can offer cold drinks and food in the summer, the Culinary Guild will be thrilled.” (Yeran)

They’ve already gotten that far, huh. Well, I only make the stuff. I don’t deal with business strategy or whatever.

“So, what are you going to make?” (Yeran)

Yeran asked while sipping her tea. She even looked a little excited.

Well, I do have a few ideas.

“Let’s see. I don’t know much about cosmetics… but for women’s makeup, isn’t it usually like, washing the face and putting on powder?” (Gentoku)

“Yeah. I mean, that’s obvious.” (Yeran)

“But hey, don’t you do skincare? Like moisturizing or something?” (Gentoku)

“What’s that?” (Yeran)

So that’s how it is, huh.

I don’t know much about women’s makeup, but there’s washing your face, then applying some kind of moisturizing cream… and then putting makeup on top of that… I think? I don’t want to remember it too clearly, but my vanished mother’s vanity had moisturizing cream and toner and stuff.

“Do you wash your face with just water?” (Gentoku)

“Uhh, I guess I wash it with water mixed with herbs or something. It smells really nice.” (Yeran)

So, it’s kind of like toner? Or was it cleansing water? I can’t remember.

Then after that you wash your face, put on cream… ahh, I don’t get it. But if I can make some kind of moisturizing cream, it might help protect the skin before applying makeup.

Ingredients… maybe vegetable fats? I could try mixing in stuff that seems good for the skin. And maybe I could even make some beauty devices like the ones I remember. Stuff my mom used to use.

 

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“This isn’t going to work.” (Gentoku)

One week later, I had mixed herbs and such to make a “fake moisturizing cream”… this really wasn’t a job for a magic tool engineer.

It looked good. A pure white cream, and it made skin smooth when applied. It even had moisturizing effects. I tested it on a shaved rat and there were no problems.

But… how should I say it… my instincts were whispering, “Don’t do it.”

“…” (Gentoku)

I mean, I’m not a scientist or a doctor. I know it exists, but I’ve never made a moisturizing cream, nor did I ever think I would. And yet, here’s the “moisturizing cream” I made, sitting right in front of me.

“…What if it causes skin problems or something? Come to think of it, didn’t some incident like that happen in the past?” (Gentoku)

I debated what to do with the sample and the ingredient list, and for now, I left them in the first-floor workshop.

Then, I went back to the office and was staring at a few of the magic tool samples I had made.

“I’m coming in.” (Sandrone)

Sandrone entered.

She walked straight over to the sofa and sat down with her legs crossed. I pulled fruit water from the fridge, dropped ice from the ice maker into a glass, poured the drink, and handed it to her.

“How’s the new product coming along?” (Sandrone)

“I’ve made a few, but they’re not really ‘summer-themed’ or anything.” (Gentoku)

“That’s fine. I can come up with a reason for it… so, what kind of product is it?” (Sandrone)

“First off, this. A hair iron.” (Gentoku)

I showed her a magic device shaped like a pair of tongs.

A hair iron. A tool that straightens hair using heat. I placed iron plates in the clamping section and embedded a magic stone inscribed with runes for “temperature change”. It generated heat by adjusting the amount of mana applied.

“And what is this?” (Sandrone)

“You use it to clamp your hair and apply heat. It gets rid of bed hair and makes your hair shiny.” (Gentoku)

“…Richter, go get Yeran right now.” (Sandrone)

“As you wish.” (Richter)

“H-Hey, you’re not…” (Gentoku)

“This is an experiment.” (Sandrone)

Five minutes later, Yeran and Richter came in, with Yeran yawning widely.

“Onee-sama… what? I pulled an all-nighter and haven’t slept…” (Yeran)

“Perfect. I need your hair for something. Gentoku, get to work.” (Sandrone)

Yeran, clearly suffering from bedhead, sat on the sofa and dozed off.

I took a strand of her hair, clamped it with the hair iron, and applied heat… her frizzy hair straightened out, and it became smooth and shiny.

“This is amazing… this product is revolutionary!!” (Sandrone)

“A lot of noblewomen have long hair. I don’t know if it’s summer-themed, but I figured it’d be good for everyday use.” (Gentoku)

At first, I thought about making the usual “soap” or “shampoo” that often appears in pioneering stories… but those already exist here. I guess it’s not that easy.

Sandrone looked at the hair iron with great interest.

“It’s interesting. But it’s not quite enough.” (Sandrone)

“Well, I do have another one… this one’s my original.” (Gentoku)

“What is it?” (Sandrone)

I pulled out a magic device with a transparent tank filled with water and herbs, sealed with a lid.

Sandrone tilted her head.

“What’s this?” (Sandrone)

“A mist generator. You put water and herbs into the tank, press the switch on the lid, and pour in mana…” (Gentoku)

The lid had a propeller that began to slowly spin. Then, through super fine holes in the lid, the water was slowly sprayed out as mist.

“I thought it might be refreshing in summer. If you put ice in the water, it gets pretty cold, and the herbal scent fills the room and feels nice. You can use whatever herbs you want, and if you bathe your face in the mist, it might work like a toner. Not sure if it counts as a beauty product though.” (Gentoku)

“…” (Sandrone)

“How about we make these two the face of our summer product lineup?” (Gentoku)

“…I like it.” (Sandrone)

Sandrone’s eyes lit up as she picked up the mist sprayer.

“This is great. I want to put one in my room… amazing, truly amazing.” (Sandrone)

“O-Oh… glad you like it.” (Gentoku)

“Richter. The summer products will be these two. Gentoku, the documents.” (Sandrone)

“Ah, yeah.” (Gentoku)

“Y-Yes.” (Richter)

I handed the specs to Richter.

I’ll leave the rest to Yeran. Not that she’d know… she had already fallen asleep again at some point.

“Come to think of it, the ice maker should be about ready, right?” (Gentoku)

“Yes. We’ve already done the promotion, and gifted units to the Edelstein royal family. It’s getting good feedback from nobles and the Culinary Guild. Applications for the ‘lease plan’ we announced alongside it are flooding in. We’ll be releasing it soon.” (Sandrone)

“Huh, now that you mention it, I haven’t seen the finished product… show it to me sometime.” (Gentoku)

“Sure. There are three sizes, large, medium, and small. Which do you want?” (Sandrone)

“Then, medium.” (Gentoku)

“Got it. I’ll bring it over along with a refrigerator soon.” (Sandrone)

“Ah, have it delivered to my house. I’ll leave the prototype here at the workshop.” (Gentoku)

“Also… we’ll be releasing headlamps and flashlights soon. I’ll make sure those get delivered as well.” (Sandrone)

“Got it. Oh, and I want to send some to the local security guys around here too.” (Gentoku)

“The business association will handle that.” (Sandrone)

We continued talking about work, and before I knew it, it was already past noon.

Sandrone said “Well then, see you,” and left. Richter carried off the sleeping Yeran.

Left alone, I opened the window and muttered…

“Come to think of it, summer’s almost here… the sun’s intense. Would be nice to hit the beach, flirt with some swimsuit-clad ladies, and knock back a few drinks.” (Gentoku)

That sounds like something my old man would say… I still think I’m young, but I guess my thoughts are getting old.

“Well then, since it’s hot, maybe I’ll try making an electric fan or air conditioner…” (Gentoku)

Thinking that, I headed down to the first-floor workshop and noticed something.

“…Huh?” (Gentoku)

The “moisturizing cream” I had left there, along with the specification sheet, was gone.

 

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